100 days, $4m ransom, tugboat rescue: The 2010 hijacking of MV Jahan Moni

On 5 December 2010, officials of MV Jahan Moni – carrying 43,150 tonnes of nickel ore, got a distressing message around 3:30pm. 

They were told that the ship, which was in the Arabian Sea, some 170 nautical miles from the Lakkha Island of India, had come under the attack of pirates. 

At 0942 Coordinated Universal Time, Nato began circulating a warning: "a merchant vessel was reported under attack by pirates/1 skiffs in position 08°11N 071°43E". 

A few minutes later, the Nato message became clearer: "This vessel has been hijacked".

After another hour, officials in Chattogram received a call from the ship's crew who had gathered in the bridge room. 

It was official. The Somali pirates had taken over. 

Off to Somalia

The pirates then diverted the ship towards Somalia. 

The MV Jahan Moni had sailed from Indonesia on 11 November 2009. It stopped in the Singapore port and then left for Greece on 27 November. 

It had been more than a month since the crew – around 26 people, including the chief engineer's wife – had been at sea. 

The ship anchored near the Somali coast on 11 December. 

The crew anxiously waited to communicate with the pirates. But that wouldn't happen till the next afternoon.

That's when they meant Leon, a scrawny man who was negotiating on behalf of the pirates. 

The ransom? A cool nine million dollars. 

As the terms of release were being discussed, more problems emerged. 

Ship Captain Farid Ahmed called Meherul Karim, the ship's manager, on 24 December. 

The situation was dire, he said. The stock of pure drinking water and fuel of the ship were both about to run out. 

But the negotiations would continue for two months. 

The final amount was fixed on 22 February. Officials of the ship then got written confirmation regarding release of the pirates. 

A payment made

Two specially waterproofed suitcases were brought aboard the MV Jahan Moni bridge around 12 March. 

The sight of the suitcases was met with cries of delight from the pirates.

Within lay bundles of crisp hundred-dollar bills, meticulously stacked to the brim.

The crew, too, had never before beheld such a staggering sum of money in their lives. 

The pirates wasted no time, meticulously counting and verifying each bill to ensure its authenticity and that the negotiated amount of $4.72 million—$4.62 million for ransom and $100,000 for fuel— was met.

With satisfaction evident on their faces, the pirates swiftly signalled to the negotiators that the ransom was acceptable. 

However, Mohammed Shahjahan, managing director of SR Shipping and owner of the MV Jahan Moni, disclaimed any ransom payment, suggesting that the insurance company might have been involved.

The end

Meanwhile, aboard the ship, the crew sensed the conclusion of negotiations after a small aircraft circled overhead a couple of days prior. Optimism swelled among them, though tempered by lingering exhaustion from enduring nearly a hundred days of relentless stress under the watch of roughly 40 pirates armed to the teeth.

As 13 March dawned, a palpable tension gripped the pirates, whose attention was fixed on the sky, punctuated by the arrival of a pirate skiff and the familiar drone of an airplane. 

Parachuted boxes containing the ransom were delivered, sparking a flurry of activity as the money was swiftly counted in the presence of the hostages.

With the promise of imminent freedom, the crew awaited anxiously, their hopes intermingled with apprehension. 

Finally, the leader of the pirates announced their departure, igniting a surge of relief among the hostages after enduring their longest night.

The transfer of the ransom marked the dawn of liberation, yet lingering fears of further peril loomed until the arrival of a British naval ship offering assistance and a Kenyan tugboat providing essential supplies. 

With renewed hope and gratitude, the ship sailed away from its harrowing ordeal, bound for safety.